1. Had a depressing and discouraging week. Got a bit of a snaggle tooth, and it’s left me with a tongue sore. Home remedies include chamomile tea and honey, so trying those. 2. Revisited both the original The Jungle Book and the live action remake recently. Quite frankly, I’m still not sure which I think … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Jungle Books and Rockefeller
Thoughts
The Dangers of Being an Internet Content Creator
The other day I watched a documentary on the rise and fall of Rooster Teeth, the web video production company behind Red vs. Blue and other series. It followed what seems to me to be an all-too familiar pattern, one that we who wish to produce content ought to consider very carefully. The short version … Continue reading The Dangers of Being an Internet Content Creator
Sunday Thoughts: On Mercy
We finished the Jules Verne biography on the way home from Maine (now's not the place for a full review, but basically it was about six hours of an interesting study stretched to twelve by a good deal of repetition, the biographer going off on his own pet theories, and his harping on Verne's sex … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: On Mercy
Thought of the Day: Logic Puzzle Monster Movies
Many of the best monster movies function as a kind of logic puzzle: given these factors (which have to be worked out over the course of the story), how do you overcome this challenge? Tremors (which I just re-watched recently) is one of the best examples of this: the characters spend about the first half … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Logic Puzzle Monster Movies
Friday Flotsam: Starts Grim, Gets Happier
1. An exhausting week full of discouragement. I’m really realizing how much I dislike coding, but the trouble is that I don’t know what else I can do for a day job. I’d really like to have a job that I can actually be invested in, even if it isn’t the Final Goal, but there … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Starts Grim, Gets Happier
Victims of Liberalism Day
On this date, the French celebrate the time an angry mob stormed an almost-empty prison that was already slated for demolition, freed four criminals and three lunatics, and burned it to the ground in the name of liberty. Which is to say, the freedom of sufficiently wealthy people to cast votes for one of a … Continue reading Victims of Liberalism Day
An Imagined Scene
Setting: Disney animation department. "Hey, you know how the first Lion King was kind of based on Hamlet, and the sequel was kind of based on Romeo and Juliet?" "Yeah, so?" "I was just thinking...we really shouldn't have done Othello for the third one."
Friday Flotsam: Dr. Johnson versus Congress (Or, I’m Not Being So Nice This Time)
1. We’re done with the Fourth and heading toward the Fourteenth, so I feel like now’s the time to be a little harsher and more frank with regards the Revolution. 2. I did some reading of Dr. Johnson’s political tracts this past week, which I’d previously only given a rather cursory look over. I found … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Dr. Johnson versus Congress (Or, I’m Not Being So Nice This Time)
A Not At All Edifying Thought on the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius
Today's the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavic peoples (hey, that’s me!). Among other regions, St. Methodius – who outlived his brother by several decades – evangelized Dalmatia, which makes me wonder… "So, Methodius, you're evangelizing Dalmatia! Any converts so far?" "Let’s see, last count...one hundred and one. By the way, … Continue reading A Not At All Edifying Thought on the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius
Smart Appliances are a Stupid Idea
Great post from David Stewart here about his experience moving into a house with a ‘smart’ thermostat and why ‘smart’ appliances are a stupid idea in general. Recommend reading the whole thing and the comments. Rudolph Harrier makes an excellent point in the latter: that smart appliances are not actually intended for convenience, they’re meant … Continue reading Smart Appliances are a Stupid Idea
Serpent's Den 